Lama Govinda

File:Lama Govinda on desk.jpg

Life

Lama Anagarika Govinda - FOR OBITUARY SEE

Lama Anagarika Govinda was born Ernst Lothar Hoffman in Waldheim, Germany (old kingdom of Saxony) in 1898, the son of a German father and a Bolivian mother. He was the founder of the Buddhist Order Arya Maitreya Mandala. As a young man living in Italy, he became interested in Buddhism and meditation during the 1920s. In 1928 he moved to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where he studied Buddhism, mastered the language of Pāli, and took his Buddhist vows. In 1931 Govinda met his Tibetan guru, Tomo Geshe Rinpoche, by whom he was initiated into the Gelug-pa sect. He spent the next thirty years in northern India, while finding time to make several trips to Tibet during the early 1930s and again in 1948-49. In 1960 he began his worldwide travels, speaking on Buddhism to audiences in Europe, North America, Japan, South Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines.

Lama Govinda spent his final days in the San Francisco area and passed away in 1985.

Lectures

Two lectures were recorded at the headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America in Wheaton, Illinois:

• "Concepts of Buddhism." This rare recording, given by Lama Govinda at the age of 79, reveals the discerning wisdom gained from a lifetime devoted to the practice and study of Tibetan Buddhism and other Eastern philosophical and religious systems. Much of this program involves Lama Govinda responding to spontaneous questions from the audience. Topics covered include dharma, reincarnation, transformation, [[Advaita Vedanta[[, and the differences between Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. 1977. 66 minutes.
• "Development of Buddhism." In this talk he explains the historical origins of Buddhism and how it differs from Hinduism. Terms such as nirvana, karma, and ahimsa are dealt with in some detail. The last section of the recording includes questions and answers from the audience. This archival recording contains some low-level background hiss, but nothing that is too noticeable 1977. 64 minutes.

Writings

Lama Govinda was a prolific writer on Buddhism. Among his books are these:

• Creative Meditation and Multidimensional Consciousness. It was reviewed by Jim Tweedie in Circles, No. 1 (Spring 1985):12.
• Insights of a Himalayan Pilgrim. Review by Robert Boyd in Theosophical History Vol 5 (July 1995): 253.
• The Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy. Review by A. N. Relton in Theosophical Journal 2:4 (Jul-Aug 1961):26.
• The Way of the White Clouds: A Buddhist Pilgrim in Tibet. Review by Sthavira Sangharakshita in Theosophical Journal 7:4 (Jul-Aug 1966): 25.

He was also a frequent contributor to The American Theosophist:

• "The Significance of Meditation in Buddhism," The American Theosophist 58:11 (November 1970): 332.
• "Consciousness Expansion and Disintegration versus Concentration and Spiritual Regeneration," The American Theosophist 60:1 (January 1972): 7.
• Review of 'The Opening of the Wisdom-Eye and the History of the Advancement of Buddhadharma in Tibet' by HH Tenzin Gyatsho, The American Theosophist 60:5 (May 1972): 95.
• "Principles of Buddhist Tantrism," The American Theosophist 60:5 (May 1972): 124.
• "The Seven Auspicious Symbols of a World Ruler," The American Theosophist 61:10 (October 1973): 283.
• "The Significance of Ritual in Buddhism," The American Theosophist 65:5 (May 1977): 124.
• "Polarity and Integration [extract]," The American Theosophist 68:5 (May 1980): 107.
• "Symbols of Transformation: Reflections on the Book of Changes," The American Theosophist 69:5 (May, 1981): 122. Reprinted from Main Currents Vol 32.
• "Completeness and Transformation [excerpt Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism]," The American Theosophist 69:7 (July 1981): 195.
• "Logic and Symbol in the Multi-Dimension Conception of the Universe," The American Theosophist 69:10 (November 1981): 122. Reprinted from Main Currents 1969.
• Quotation from "The Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy," The American Theosophist 70:9 (October 1982): 287.
• "Buddhism as Actuality beyond Pessimism & Optimism," The American Theosophist 71:10 (October 1982): 356.
• "Creative Meditation," The American Theosophist 73:3 (March 1985): 64.
• ""The American Theosophist 70:9 (October 1982): 64.

He also wrote articles for numerous other Theosophical periodicals:

• "Pensées, " Le Lotus Bleu 92 (Avril 1987): 5.
• "Trance Walking And Lung-gom Training, " Light Bearer 14:3 (Autumn 2006): 31.
• "Consciousness Expansion: Disintegration versus Concentration & Spiritual Regeneration," Theosophy in Australia 36:5 (October 1972): 8.
• "Fundamental Principles of Meditation." Theoscientist 10:4 (1986): 8.
• "The Way of Transformation," Theosophy in New Zealand 41 (July-Sept 1980): 68.
• "Meeting with the Guru [reprint]," Theosophy in New Zealand 64 (September 2003): 7.
• "The Story of Siddha Kadgapa [reprint 1966]," Theosophy in New Zealand 64 (September 2003): 26.
• "Trance Walking and Lung-gom Training [extract Way of the White Clouds]," Theosophy in New Zealand 67 (March 2006): 8.
• "Creative Meditation," The Eclectic Theosophist 21 (Winter, 1992): 4.